Soul Mates
by watchurback
Summary: Two rivals develop an unusual form of communication after a peculiar incident... DHrR triangle.
1. Default Chapter

**Soul Mates**

Hermione abruptly stopped chatting merrily away to her fellow class-mates, in order to focus her attention towards the Headmaster, whom had prominently stood up to conduct his usual Start of Academic Year announcements.

"Welcome, students, welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore's pleasant voice rang across the room, "this year, unlike many others, shall commence in a new era. A peaceful era. I trust most of you have been keeping up with the latest tidings: Voldemort perishing due to being a recipient of a Dementor's Kiss and our brilliant devoted Aurors catching all the Death Eaters. Good, as always, has finally prevailed!"

Hermione was amongst the many whom had stood up from their seat in attempt to cheer the most enthusiastically.

What nobody from the blissful lot realized was that someone was standing in a secluded corner right outside the Great Hall, watching the events, including the announcements, with a sinister expression.

That someone was battling with remorse at his return to Hogwarts.

Draco Malfoy's parents were both locked up in Azkaban. The last he'd heard, Lucius had died. Yet he would never know for certain, as he has no form of communication with either of them whatsoever. He wasn't even permitted to write! No, the new Minister of Magic had prohibited it.

The scene in which Narcrissa was being dragged off by Azkaban guards haunted Draco so much that he was quite nutrition and sleep deprived.

"Don't stop attending school son," she yelled, giving him final instructions as the hems of her robes were roughly tugged at to drag her to a Portkey which would lead to her destination, whilst he was helplessly and defenselessly held back during his failed attempts to combat the situation. "Get good grades! Become such a Great Wizard, so great that you can avenge me! Avenge your father and I!"

His Mother's will was the only motivation of his return. If that had not been the case, he most certainly would have fled someplace far away where he could securely scheme their escape. All he could and did do was offer the extremely immense and impressive amount of the Malfoy fortune and legacy he inherited to the Wizarding Authority, in order to bail his parents out. Even that though wasn't enough to exchange their freedom with. The wretched Wizarding Authority's stubbornness planted all the conviction in Draco which he needed to oblige his Mother's wish.

His gaze drifted off and fixed at Harry Pothead.

_It's your entire fault_, he thought bitterly as Harry animatedly chatted to Hermione and Ron completely carefree, _it's all your fault that I am practically an orphan just like the pathetic likes of you. It's your fault and your friends' as well. If it weren't for your so-called heroic contribution to the bloody Order…_

What happened next was inevitable: Draco's heart throbbed so vigorously that he clutched his chest and collapsed onto the floor in agonized pain. He was about to die. He knew it. And no one would notice quickly enough to save him; even Crabbe and Goyle weren't there. They were imprisoned at Juvenile Delinquent Azkaban, along with another thirty or so Slytherins that were meant to be present amongst the other students this evening.

_I shall join you now, Father._

He thought he heard some footsteps and a sharp intake of breath.

_Angels coming to retrieve my soul, no doubt... What's taking them so long!_

"Someone HELP!" A girl's voice shrieked. "Malfoy's in trouble."

The girl's head rested on his chest. Her hair smelt wonderful. Of vanilla. He ravenously breathed it in… it was so soothing and sensational.

"I can hear a heartbeat!" The girl called. "But someone come quickly, anyway!"

Draco, feeling much better, stood up abruptly.

He felt his heart turn back to ice.

"Granger," he said quite coldly, upon realizing whom his savior was. Just the person he needed to witness his moment of weakness. Not.

Consequently, Hermione wasn't at all satisfied at this 'gratitude' she was payed.

"Well, I definitely regret coming to your aid, that's for sure." She remarked indignantly, while standing up. "What with that awful tone you're addressing me with. But then again, what was I to expect from Draco Malfoy?"

"What do you think you were you doing, coming out before the Feast had barely even started," Draco's voice sounded crueler than intended, his self-control sabotaged by humiliation, "and not leaving me lying there?"

"Well I beg your pardon," She said equally as harshly, with a little surprise at his attitude, "if I like many similar to me, someone with a heart, couldn't resist helping those who could be dieing right before my eyes. Those whom seem to be isolated tonight, nevertheless. As for what I was doing coming out here, I fail to see what would make you think I would answer that as if it's of any remote business of yours."

"But wait- what am I doing, justifying myself to you?" She said as an immediate afterthought "I'll unfortunately be seeing you around, Malfoy!"

"It won't be a surprise to you, I presume," he heard his voice reply, like a reflex trying to fulfill his composure "to hear that I am not looking forward to it? You had your disgustingly dirty flesh all over my new robes, Mudblood!"

Hermione spun around at that last comment, and unexpectedly eyed him with a mixture of disgust, despair and bewilderment. She then shrugged indifferently though and proceeded on her way to the Women's Ground-Floor Lavatories.

Draco angrily eyed her as she did so. Why had she, of all people… saved his life? It was her vanilla scented hair which he ravenously inhaled that had given him the resilience he needed to revive. There was no question to it. He bitterly remembered her expression after his typical cruel words. He would rather have been retorted to with a slap or another insult.

He angrily slammed his fist onto a nearby wall. _Must she activate my guilty conscience?_

Clearly his body had finally begun exhibiting affects caused by lack of food when he had somewhat fainted. When Draco realized that, he yielded to the appealing smell of the Feast so he decided upon assisting in its consumption.

While he piled Greek Salad onto his plate, in spite of his will, his thoughts reverted to the image of Hermione walking away from him. She had most certainly physically matured, much more favorably than ever. Her hair was still wispy, yet it was under control and flowed all the way down to her waist. It also grew lighter in color the further down it went, so that it started off as brown and ended as a naturally shimmering blonde.

Who ever thought that so filthy a mudblood would appear so attractive?

Suddenly, out of the blue, he heard Hermione's voice.

"I never knew that you could feel that warm, by the way," her voice casually informed him "Because well, you know that you definitely are the coldest creature, physically and psychologically, imaginable- don't you? I save you and all you could do is rub in my so-called 'inferior' blood heritage!"

Draco immediately spun around. She was nowhere in sight! He realized in alarm. _Wasn't she still in the lavatories?_

_Please don't tell me that the Summer-break's events had finally gotten to my sanity, resulting in my hearing non-existent voices…_

People eyed Draco with suspicion and surprise. He saw Weasley say something that made Scarface laugh.

It couldn't be! He wasn't insane. Granger must have cursed him. She was certainly brainy enough to do that; he couldn't deny her that at least. It was out of character of her not to reply to his comment after all. Instead, she must have hexed him to hear her stupid voice as revenge!

_Should I confront her? Or risk her 'discovering' my possible insanity?_

He watched her reenter the Great Hall and pondered upon this ultimatum…

The next chapter is _your review_ away. Just be honest!


	2. 2nd chapter

AN: Thank you Cindy Vortex, bookwarmJ, XWickedGirlX (nice name!) and guardgirl07! If it weren't for your support and encouragement, the next chapter wouldn't be up so soon!

**2nd chapter**

_To confront, or not to… _Draco pondered frantically.

_Not to._ A small voice inside Draco told him. _You wouldn't want Mudblood to know that you're hearing her despicable voice inside you now, would you?_

Satisfied with this decision, Draco resumed eating.

Curiously, he stole a glance at Hermione- was she aware that he owed her his life?

She was glaring at him, ignoring some story Pothead was telling at her. The second she realized that he was returning her stare she quickly turned away.

_Too late to pretend that didn't have all eyes for me just now, Granger!_ A strong glorious wave thought boasted. _Better not let me catch your dirty muggle eyes on me again!_

Hermione suddenly gasped, causing her friends to gape at her. She was eyeing Draco with shock, with something similar to realization dawning in on her. He didn't understand what was going on; neither did her friends, apparently.

"What wrong, Hermione?" Draco overheard Ron ask her, very concerned, and following her gaze towards the Slimy Slytherin suspiciously.

"Must be something she ate," Ginny added obliviously, wrinkling her nose. "Did they put salt onto these blueberry waffles instead of sugar? Made me want to barf the second I bit into one!"

"Yes, Ginny you're correct." Hermione said too quickly, pulling the plate of waffles away from her. "It tasted so awful I think it's making me nauseous. Don't touch them boys!"

"Well eat those scrumptious trumpets instead," Harry said, offering her some.

"Thanks Harry. But I'm put off eating now. I'll see you tomorrow. I've got an early Head Student/Prefect meeting tomorrow morning. Goodnight!"

Ron didn't feel it necessary to chip in that they didn't have any such meeting so soon. He was Prefect after all, so he would know. His eyes trailed after Hermione with curiosity.

Draco, meanwhile, acknowledged the event that took place before his eyes indifferently. He was imagining how his parents would react to the news that he was made Head Boy…

His mother's proud face vanished and was replaced by an irritating voice. Granger's voice, yet again.

"I heard you clearly, Ferret, ordering me not to make you catch me staring at you again. Like that's such an extraordinary request. If you can hear this, it would present a problem. You would do well to meet me at the Head's Lounge. The password's 'Butterbeer fingers'. I'm waiting."

Draco was full of chills. His foot lay ungrounded in his mouth. This was bizarre. He was insane. He'll go to the Head Lounge, not find Granger there; because this voice he just heard was purely made up. Then he could escape from this hellhole and spend the rest of his days with a Shrink instead.

He felt his feet leave the Great Hall, dragging his body along with him. _This can't be happening. Why Granger? Of all people, why her?_

He stood motionless before the portrait at the Head Quarters for a few minutes.

What if the password he was told was valid? It would certainly mean that… well, there was one way to know for sure.

"Butterbeer fingers," he drawled lazily.

"In you go." The portrait said, admitting him in.

He stepped in, feeling miserable. There was Granger, standing before him with her hands on her hips. Her presence made his heart skip a beat, and it wasn't due to hormones!

"So…" she said, "you got my message?"

"Of course I got your message," he said rudely, "why else would I be here?"

"Could be coincidentally." Hermione said in a soft voice.

_Must she answer every question, even the rhetorical ones?_ He thought bitterly and furiously.

"It cannot be helped." She replied, as if having a perfectly normal conversation. "You can't keep the bees from creating honey. You can't keep the sun from rising every morning. Same way, you can't keep me from answering a question, especially those directed at me, so long as I know the answer."

Draco ignored her and the awkward situation they were in for a minute and looked around. The Head's Lounge was magnificent. Half the walls showed animated pictures of green silver-spotted snakes coiling around golden lions with scarlet manes. The serpents were strangling the lions despite their attempts to defy.

The other half showed the lions beheading the serpents with claws, otherwise biting it off.

He warily plumped onto a couch before him. "Well I want an answer from you now: why are we like this? What's with the mobile/MSN instant messaging thing?"

Too late. His words slipped out before he could stop them. Hermione was gaping at him with shock.

"You've just referred to Muggle objects…" She said, and once comprehension dawned in her surprise converted to rage "Why you little- how dare you frequently diss muggles and muggle-borns when you yourself have an interest in their ways and use them yourself?"

Draco shrugged.

He made a weak mental note to himself to practice the Memory-loss charm. He'll definitely need to use it on Granger.

"The reason I'm here enduring you has nothing to do with lamenting on my prejudice against muggles. I repeat: Why am I hearing your irritating voice in my head and vice versa?"

Hermione's cheeks turned red.

"This morning, before coming to school, I attempted brewing a potion that supposedly granted me luck throughout the entire year. Little did I know that this potion though, actually, was created by Fred and George Weasley. Its affects made your hair reek of flatulence throughout the entire year instead. One of their practical jokes."

She took a deep breath and sat in front of the mirror so that the fire lit her face, making her perfect features look- were those tears forming in her eyes?

"Well carry on," Draco said impatiently, moving his gaze away from her and onto one of the snakes and lions whom have stopped fighting with one another and were watching Hermione attentively themselves, as if adjusting to the story.

"After the awful revelation, it was high time to make the journey to the Platform. Naturally, I couldn't go with such a stench. I was Head girl and had to appear presentable in every aspect. In my panic and haste, I grabbed the nearest essence conditioner, Ginny Weasley's, and squirted it all over my hair before reading its affects. The affect of it is, apart from making one's hair smell heavenly of course, whomever the applier moves close enough to as to inhale it, leaves them with a psychoverbal communication with the applier. A… permanent one. So, whenever we choose to, we can send one another voice waves. Perceiving it optimistically, it's no biggie. Just never choose to, so it won't have to happen again."

Draco was frowning. _This was all her fault!_

He slowly stood up fiercely. It gave Hermione the creeps. He looked extremely tall… and dangerously intimidating. His blonde hair fell all over his icy glistening gray eyes and his muscles were bulging. With one strike, he would have her petite body stone cold corpse.

"Then why did you come close to me?" He said in a soft dangerous whisper, approaching her. "Why did you compel me to inhale it? Did you know that you scared me into imagining that I had lost it? That you humiliated me, making me look like a nut in front of the whole school?"

His face was extremely close to hers and his eyes were so lifeless.

_He'll kill me…_

"Malfoy please, spare me!" She begged, scolding herself for leaving her wand in her room so that she lay defenseless. "The scent also has some healing powers. I saved you! If it weren't for this mistake you could well be dead now…"

Draco though, looked hypnotized. He grabbed her face viciously. His freezing hands against her warm face scared Hermione into screaming.

Just then the Portrait was blasted open with Ron barging in, his wand aimed at Draco's chest.

"Unhand her!" He ordered.

Draco's hand immediately dropped to his sides.

"Ron!" Hermione cried, running into his arms on the verge of tears. "I was sure he was g- going to h- harm me! Wha- how did you know?"

"I noticed him leaving right after you did so I followed," He glared at Malfoy "You. You will get what's coming to you."

_No I won't._

Within a second Draco had reached for his wand, aimed it at the couple before him and shouted "Disdumdiar!", a flash of yellow light later both lay sprawled on the floor before him, unconscious.

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Review please!


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